Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 83031 

1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 

Medicare Claims Processing Manual Chapter 6— 

SNF Inpatient Part A Billing and SNF Consolidated 

Billing (Rev. 11109, 11–04–21), https://

www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/guidance/ 

manuals/downloads/clm104c06.pdf (last visited 

April 11, 2023). 

(7) The Patrol Commander may 

terminate the event or the operation of 

any vessel at any time it is deemed 

necessary for the protection of life or 

property. 

(8) The Patrol Commander will 

terminate enforcement of the special 

regulations at the conclusion of the 

event. 

Dated: November 17, 2023. 

S.M. Murray, 

Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Alternate 

Captain of the Port Buffalo. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26149 Filed 11–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 51 

RIN 2900–AR62 

Payments Under State Home Care 

Agreements for Nursing Home Care 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) adopts as final, with one 

change, a proposed rule amending its 

State home per diem regulation to 

provide a new formula for calculating 

the prevailing rate VA would pay a State 

home that enters into a State home care 

agreement to provide nursing home care 

to eligible veterans. 

DATES: This rule is effective December 

28, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colette Alvarez, Chief of Staff Home Per 

Diem Program, Geriatrics and Extended 

Care (12GEC), Veterans Health 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461–6750. 

(This is not a toll-free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a 

document published in the Federal 

Register (FR) on December 21, 2022, VA 

proposed to amend its per diem 

regulations in part 51 of title 38, Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR) to provide 

a new formula for calculating the 

prevailing rate VA will pay a State home 

that enters into a State home care 

agreement to provide nursing home care 

to eligible veterans. 87 FR 78038. VA 

provided a 60-day comment period, 

which ended on February 21, 2023. Two 

comments were received, one of which 

included multiple issues, and these 

comments are addressed below by topic. 

VA makes one change to the rule based 

on the comments received. 

U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and 

Eligibility for Care in a State Home 

One commenter questioned whether 

veterans of the USPHS are eligible for 

care in State homes even if the State 

does not recognize service in the USPHS 

for veteran status. The commenter 

further asserts that USPHS veterans are 

veterans by Federal law and eligible for 

all VA benefits, and if a State home is 

receiving funding from VA then a 

USPHS veteran should be eligible for 

care in that State home even if the State 

does not recognize a USPHS veteran for 

other State benefits. 

While VA considers this comment 

outside of the scope of the rulemaking, 

we clarify that an individual is a veteran 

under 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) 

101(2) if the individual ‘‘served in the 

active military, naval, air, or space 

service and . . . was discharged or 

released therefrom under conditions 

other than dishonorable.’’ ‘‘Active 

military, naval, air, or space service’’ 

includes ‘‘active duty’’ and certain 

periods of ‘‘active duty for training’’ and 

‘‘inactive duty training’’ which are all 

defined by 38 U.S.C. 101(21)–(24). 

These terms prescribe the type of 

service an individual needs to have had 

to be eligible for VA health care benefits 

under 38 U.S.C. 1710 and 1705 and are 

inclusive of service in the USPHS. 38 

Code of Federal Register (CFR) 17.31 

generally incorporates the 38 U.S.C. 101 

definitions of active service, active duty, 

active duty for training, and inactive 

duty training, as well as certain other 

service recognized as active service 

under 38 U.S.C. 106. In short, § 17.31 

addresses the duty periods considered 

under active service for eligibility for 

VA medical benefits, and it is inclusive 

of service in the USPHS. Thus, an 

individual with full-time service in the 

USPHS may qualify as a ‘‘veteran’’ for 

purposes of health care benefits 

administered by VA. 

However, the designation of veteran 

for purposes of VA health care benefits 

does not require a State home to accept 

a veteran into State home. The VA State 

home program pays per diem to State 

homes for three types of care provided 

to eligible veterans: nursing home care, 

domiciliary care, and adult day health 

care (ADHC). The statutory authority for 

the payment program is set forth at 38 

U.S.C. 1741–43 and VA has published 

regulations governing this program at 38 

CFR part 51. Sections 51.50 through 

51.52 address which veterans are 

eligible for purposes of payment of per 

diem for nursing home care, domiciliary 

care, and ADHC, respectively. An 

important distinction is that while VA 

can pay per diem to State homes for care 

provided to eligible veterans, State 

homes are not obligated to accept all 

eligible veterans. VA does not have 

management authority over State 

homes. State homes are owned and 

operated by State governments and each 

State establishes eligibility and 

admission criteria for its homes. State 

homes may have additional admission 

requirements such as age, wartime 

service, years of service, and residency 

requirements. Therefore, VA is unable 

to dictate which eligible veterans for 

purposes of payment of per diem may 

be admitted to a State home. VA makes 

no changes based on this comment. 

State Home Responsibilities Under the 

Prevailing Rate 

One commenter raised concerns that 

VA is proposing to continue to use the 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 

Services (CMS) Prospective Payment 

System (PPS) for creating the baseline 

for the prevailing rate without utilizing 

Medicare’s consolidated billing 

guidelines to confirm which services are 

covered under the rate. Specifically, the 

commenter referred to the Medicare 

Claims Processing Manual Chapter 6— 

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Inpatient 

Part A Billing and SNF Consolidated 

Billing (Medicare Manual).1 The 

commenter stated that all services 

considered within the scope and 

capability of nursing home care are paid 

under the PPS rate and that the 

Medicare Manual lists which services 

are included and excluded under the 

PPS rate. Further, the commenter 

suggested that VA should use the 

Medicare Manual to confirm which 

services are covered under the 

prevailing rate because State homes are 

finding more instances where there is an 

expectation for State homes to pay for 

services that have been specifically 

excluded under PPS. The commenter 

specifically mentioned psychologist and 

psychiatric services, and high-cost 

medications (e.g., high-intensity anticancer drugs). The commenter also 

stated that all drugs not listed on the 

most recent VA formulary should 

qualify for an exclusion from the 

prevailing rate calculation since these 

medications are not routinely 

administered in a SNF or are 

exceptionally expensive. Finally, the 

commenter requested a guide for State 

homes and VA staff to determine the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
83032 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 

Medicare Learning Network: Skilled Nursing 

Facility Billing Reference, ICN MLN006846 (May 

2022), https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-andEducation/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/ 

MLNProducts/EnrollmentResources/providerresources/snf-billing-reference.html (last visited 

April 11, 2023). 

3 Id. 

4 Id. 

5 Id. 

6U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Measuring Price 

Change in the CPI: Medical Care (Feb. 10, 2023), 

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/medicalcare.htm (last visited April 7, 2023). 

financial responsibility for the full 

coordination of care. 

We interpret that this commenter is 

expressing concern that State homes are 

not being adequately compensated by 

VA under the prevailing rate for certain 

care (such as psychologist and 

psychiatric services, and high-cost 

medications as mentioned in the 

comment) by virtue of VA not using the 

Medicare Manual to confirm which 

services are covered and which services 

are excluded. Further we interpret that 

this commenter believes that if VA uses 

the Medicare Manual to confirm 

covered and excluded services, then 

State homes would be allowed to seek 

payment for excluded services in 

addition to the prevailing rate. However, 

VA has no clear indication that State 

homes are being inadequately 

compensated for care, even when drugs 

and medications, and psychologist and 

psychiatric services are furnished. We 

also believe that VA’s current payment 

structure for State home care will 

remedy inadequate compensation were 

it to become an issue. Under § 51.41, 

payment by VA to State homes for care 

of a veteran is payment in full for care 

the State home provides that veteran. 38 

U.S.C. 1745(a)(3). In accordance with 38 

U.S.C. 1745(a)(2), VA has developed a 

payment methodology to adequately 

reimburse State homes for the care 

provided under agreements with VA, 

where VA has established two methods 

of payment in 38 CFR 51.41, one each 

for State home contracts and State home 

care agreements, respectively. State 

homes that enter into contracts will be 

compensated at the rate negotiated in 

the contract. On the other hand, State 

homes that enter into State home care 

agreements will be compensated using 

the prevailing rate, which is calculated 

to compensate State homes for the 

average cost of providing nursing home 

care to the veterans whose care is 

covered under 38 CFR 51.41, including, 

as indicated in § 51.41(c)(2), the cost of 

drugs and medicines. Although the 

costs of all drugs and medications, 

including those that are not on the VA 

formulary, as well as psychologist and 

psychiatric services are not payable 

separately from general payments under 

State home care agreements, if a State 

home cannot accept the prevailing rate 

that VA offers in a State home care 

agreement, that State home has the 

option to request a contract under 

§ 51.41 and would then be able to 

negotiate with VA for a specific contract 

rate. 

We otherwise do not find that using 

the Medicare Manual the commenter 

references would be appropriate or 

necessarily transferrable to the 

determination of which services are 

covered and which services are 

excluded under the prevailing rate as 

that Medicare Manual is used for care in 

a SNF that is measured in only limited 

benefit periods, whereas VA’s payments 

are not so limited. In the cited Medicare 

Manual, in each benefit period, 

Medicare Part A covers up to 20 full 

days of care, after that Medicare Part A 

covers up to an additional 80 days with 

the beneficiary paying coinsurance for 

each day, and after 100 days, the SNF 

coverage exhausts and the beneficiary 

pays for all care, except for certain 

Medicare Part B services.2 The benefit 

period begins on the day a Medicare 

beneficiary is admitted to a hospital or 

SNF as an inpatient and ends after the 

beneficiary has not been a hospital 

inpatient or received skilled care in a 

SNF for 60 consecutive days.3 Once the 

benefit period ends, a new benefit 

period begins when the beneficiary is 

admitted to a hospital or SNF.4 Further, 

a new benefit period does not begin due 

to a change in diagnosis, condition, or 

calendar year.5 However, unlike 

Medicare part A coverage, under 

§ 51.41, VA will pay a State home the 

prevailing rate for the duration that a 

State home provides care to a veteran, 

even if it exceeds Medicare’s 100 day 

benefit period. Therefore, VA believes 

that because the Medicare Manual 

referenced by the commenter is 

premised on a limited benefit period, it 

is not applicable or relevant to the 

payment VA provides to State homes 

under the prevailing rate for an 

indefinite period of time. 

For the reasons stated above VA 

makes no changes based on this 

comment. 

Prevailing Rate for ADHC 

One commenter stated that the ADHC 

prevailing rate includes transportation 

to and from the ADHC program and is 

a key element of the service to veterans 

and their caregivers. The commenter 

asserted that due to the Coronavirus 

Disease-2019 (COVID–19), the cost of 

ambulette transportation has tripled in 

labor, gas, vehicle maintenance, and 

insurance and that these costs have 

grown much higher than the typical 

inflationary increase in the SNF 

Consumer Price Index (CPI), which the 

commenter asserted was used by VA to 

calculate the proposed rate change. To 

the extent the commenter is concerned 

that the CPI index for medical care that 

includes an item for nursing home and 

adult day care services 6 is not sufficient 

to cover the cost of ambulette 

transportation, VA did not use any CPI 

index as a factor in the proposed change 

to the prevailing rate for nursing home 

care. As stated in the proposed rule, VA 

believes that the CMS SNF Market 

Basket rate would more accurately 

reflect actual costs than would an 

alternate method such as a component 

of the CPI. 87 FR 78040 (December 21, 

2022). VA makes no changes based on 

this comment. 

One commenter raised concerns 

regarding the proposed non-substantive 

change for the title of § 51.41(c) from 

‘‘Payments under State home 

agreements.’’ to Payments for nursing 

home care under State home care 

agreements.’’ The commenter noted that 

the calculation of the prevailing rate for 

nursing home care is also the 

foundation for the prevailing rate paid 

for ADHC and that it is equally 

important to ensure the rate paid for 

ADHC is representative of the services 

being provided. VA agrees with the 

commenter that § 51.41(c) is the current 

foundation for the prevailing rate paid 

for ADHC. On March 27, 2018, the State 

Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care 

Improvement Act of 2017 (ADHC 

Improvement Act), Public Law 115–159, 

was signed into law. The ADHC 

Improvement Act added a new 

paragraph (d) to 38 U.S.C. 1745 

authorizing VA to pay State homes for 

providing medical supervision adult 

day health care to eligible veterans. A 

proposed rule to implement the ADHC 

Improvement Act is currently being 

developed which will be made available 

to the public for comment. Any changes 

to the title of § 51.41(c), if necessary, 

will be addressed in that rulemaking; 

therefore, VA will not finalize the 

proposed revision to the title of 

§ 51.41(c) and the title will remain as 

‘‘Payments under State home care 

agreements.’’ 

Based on the rationale set forth in this 

document, VA is adopting the proposed 

rule as final with one change as noted 

above. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 83033 

Executive Orders 12866, 13563 and 

14094 

Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review) directs agencies 

to assess the costs and benefits of 

available regulatory alternatives and, 

when regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety effects, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 (Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review) 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

14094 (Executive Order on Modernizing 

Regulatory Review) supplements and 

reaffirms the principles, structures, and 

definitions governing contemporary 

regulatory review established in 

Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 

1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), 

and Executive Order 13563 of January 

18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review). The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs has 

determined that this rulemaking is not 

a significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866, as amended by 

Executive Order 14094. The Regulatory 

Impact Analysis associated with this 

rulemaking can be found as a 

supporting document at 

www.regulations.gov. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this final rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities as they are 

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601–612). The rulemaking 

revises the formula VA uses to calculate 

the per diem it pays State homes for 

nursing home care of certain veterans. 

The effect of the rule is to change VA 

payments to State homes. Therefore, 

this rule only affects veterans and State 

homes. 

All State homes are owned, operated, 

and managed by State governments, 

except for a small number operated by 

entities under contract with State 

governments. Neither these contractors 

nor State governments are small entities 

as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601. State homes 

subject to this final rulemaking are State 

homes that are currently under a State 

home care agreement, those that enter 

into a new agreement, and any facility 

that begins an agreement for the first 

time. The rule will impose no direct 

costs on the State homes. Therefore, 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the initial 

and final regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do 

not apply. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that 

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

one year. This final rule will have no 

such effect on State, local, and Tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Although this action relates to 

provisions constituting collections of 

information at 38 CFR 51.41, under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), no 

new or proposed revised collections of 

information would be associated with 

this final rule. The information 

collection requirements for § 51.41(e) 

are currently approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

have been assigned OMB control 

numbers 2900–0091 and 2900–0160. 

Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

designated this rule as not a major rule, 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 51 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Claims, Adult Day Health 

Care, Dental health, Domiciliary, 

Government contracts, Health care, 

Health facilities, Health professions, 

Health records, Mental health programs, 

Nursing homes, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Travel and 

transportation expenses, Veterans. 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, signed and approved 

this document on November 16, 2023, 

and authorized the undersigned to sign 

and submit the document to the Office 

of the Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

For the reasons described in the 

preamble, Department of Veterans 

Affairs amends 38 CFR part 51 as 

follows: 

PART 51—PER DIEM FOR NURSING 

HOME, DOMICILIARY, OR ADULT DAY 

HEALTH CARE OF VETERANS IN 

STATE HOMES 

■ 1. The general authority citation for 

part 51 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 1710, 1720, 

1741–1743, 1745, and as follows. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. In § 51.41 revise paragraph (c)(1) to 

read as follows: 

§ 51.41 Contracts and State home care 

agreements for certain veterans with 

service-connected disabilities. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) State homes must sign an 

agreement to receive payment from VA 

for providing care to certain eligible 

veterans under a State home care 

agreement. A State home care agreement 

for nursing home care under this section 

will provide for payments at the rate 

determined by the following formula. 

(i) Determine whether the Resource 

Utilization Groups (RUG) or Skilled 

Nursing Facility Prospective Payment 

System (SNF–PPS) applies. 

(A) For State homes in a metropolitan 

statistical area, use the published fiscal 

year Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 

Services (CMS) RUG case-mix levels for 

the applicable metropolitan statistical 

area. 

(B) For State homes in a rural area, 

use the published fiscal year CMS SNF– 

PPS case-mix levels for the applicable 

rural area. 

(ii) Compute the daily rate for each 

State home, using the following formula 

in the order described: 

(A) Multiply the labor component by 

the State home wage index for each of 

the applicable case-mix levels. 

(B) Add to that amount the non-labor 

component. 

(C) Divide the sum of the results of 

these calculations by the number of 

applicable case-mix levels. 

(D) Add to this quotient the amount 

based on the CMS payment schedule for 

physician services. The amount for 

physician services, based on 

information published by CMS, is the 

average hourly rate for all physicians, 

with the rate modified by the applicable 

urban or rural geographic index for 

physician work, then multiplied by 12, 

then divided by the number of days in 

the year. The resulting sum is the per 

diem baseline rate for the State home. 

(E) Multiply the per diem baseline 

rate from the previous year by the CMS 

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Market 

Basket increase in effect as of December 

28, 2023. The sum establishes the 

reference total per diem baseline rate 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
83034 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

1 2018 PM2.5 Plan, ES–8. 

from which subsequent fiscal year per 

diem rates will be calculated. For 

calculation of SNF per diem rates for 

subsequent fiscal years VA will apply 

the CMS SNF Market Basket increase to 

the total per diem each year. 

Note 1 to paragraph (c)(1): The amount 

calculated under this formula reflects the 

prevailing rate payable in the geographic area 

in which the State home is located for 

nursing home care furnished in a State home. 

The amount calculated under this formula 

applies to both new and existing facilities 

with State home care agreements. Further, 

the formula for establishing these rates 

includes CMS information that is published 

in the Federal Register every year and is 

effective beginning October 1 for the entire 

fiscal year. Accordingly, VA will adjust the 

rates annually. 

* * * * * 

§ 51.70 [Amended] 

■ 3. In § 51.70, in paragraph (n), remove 

‘‘51.110(d)(2)(ii) of this part’’ and add in 

its place ‘‘51.110(e)(2)(ii)’’. 

§ 51.110 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 51.110, in paragraph (d), 

remove ‘‘Version 2.0’’ and add in its 

place ‘‘Version 3.0’’. 

§ 51.300 [Amended] 

■ 5. In § 51.300, in paragraph (d)(3), 

remove ‘‘(a)(2)(i) through (vii)’’ and add 

in its place ‘‘(d)(2)(i) through (vii)’’. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25998 Filed 11–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2023–0076; FRL–10663– 

02–R9] 

Air Plan Revisions; California; San 

Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution 

Control District 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve a revision to the San Joaquin 

Valley Unified Air Pollution Control 

District (SJVUAPCD) portion of the 

California State Implementation Plan 

(SIP). This revision concerns emissions 

of particulate matter (PM) from wood 

burning devices. We are approving a 

local measure that regulates these 

emission sources under the Clean Air 

Act (CAA or the Act). 

DATES: This rule is effective December 

28, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–OAR–2023–0076. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available through https://

www.regulations.gov, or please contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section for 

additional availability information. If 

you need assistance in a language other 

than English or if you are a person with 

a disability who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elijah Gordon, EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 

94105. By phone: (415) 972–3158 or by 

email at gordon.elijah@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Proposed Action 

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses 

III. EPA Action 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Proposed Action 

On April 14, 2023 (88 FR 22978), the 

EPA proposed to approve the following 

measure into the California SIP. 

TABLE 1—SUBMITTED MEASURE

Local agency Resolution No. Measure title Adopted Submitted 

SJVUAPCD ...................... 21–11–7 Burn Cleaner Fireplace and Woodstove Change-out 

Incentive Measure (‘‘Burn Cleaner Incentive Measure’’).

11/18/2021 03/17/2022 

We proposed to approve this measure 

because we determined that it complies 

with the relevant CAA requirements. 

Our proposed action contains more 

information on the measure and our 

evaluation. 

II. Public Comments and EPA 

Responses 

The EPA’s proposed action provided 

a 30-day public comment period. During 

this period, we received three public 

comments. The first two comments fail 

to identify any issue that is germane to 

our action on the measure and are 

outside the scope of this rulemaking. 

One of these comments included 

offensive content and was therefore not 

posted to the public docket. The other 

comment discusses wildfires and 

vehicle emissions. Our response to the 

third comment from Sheraz Gill, Deputy 

Air Pollution Control Officer (APCO) of 

SJVUAPCD, is below. 

Comment: After providing a summary 

of the measure, the commenter 

expresses concerns that, although the 

measure meets all four integrity 

elements necessary for an incentive 

measure to be fully approvable into the 

SIP, the EPA has chosen to not give SIP 

emission reduction credit. The 

commenter states ‘‘. . . the District is 

concerned with EPA’s proposed 

approval not including emission 

reduction credit for this measure, as the 

program has achieved and will continue 

to achieve significant emissions 

reductions in the San Joaquin Valley.’’ 

The commenter recommends that the 

EPA include in our final approval of 

this measure SIP credit for the specific 

emission reductions quantified. 

Response: As explained in our 

proposal, SJVUAPCD regulates a PM2.5

nonattainment area classified as Serious 

for the 1997 (24-hour 65 mg/m3 and 

annual 15 mg/m3 limit), 2006 (24-hour 

35 mg/m3 limit), and 2012 (annual 12 mg/ 

m3 limit) PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS). The 

District adopted the 2018 Plan for the 

1997, 2006, and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS 

(2018 PM2.5 Plan) in November 2018 to 

help bring the District into attainment 

for these NAAQS.1 The 2018 PM2.5 Plan 

includes aggregate emissions reduction 

commitments by the SJVUAPCD to 

achieve an additional 1.30 tons per day 

(tpd), annual average, direct PM2.5


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1